


Shrug It Off

by cocoacremeandgays



Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Anxiety, Depression, Gen, Suicidal Thoughts, in-school counseling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 06:09:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15212891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cocoacremeandgays/pseuds/cocoacremeandgays
Summary: Kyle's confession is concerning to Mr. Mackey.





	Shrug It Off

“That's a very serious thing to say, Kyle.”

Kyle remained unimpressed. His stillness – the simplicity of his languid posture – spoke louder than his mouth ever could. Perhaps the thing that shocked Mr. Mackey the most was the fact that Kyle wasn't fidgeting in the slightest. There was no finger flicking, or foot tapping; there was a distinct lack of movement. It was eerie, especially for a kid who apparently struggled with an anxiety disorder.

Suddenly, the boy slid further in his chair. His posture moved from uncaring to totally blocked off. The arms that previously had been slung carelessly against his lap, were now crossed against his chest. His shoulder blades were definitely pressing against the top of the chair's backrest.

Kyle's lips parted only slightly as he proceeded to drag his tongue across the fronts of his top teeth. “Yeah,” he finally said. He draped one leg loosely over the other. “So?”

“So I want to make sure you're serious, m'kay,” Mr. Mackey answered. His knobby fingers laced together, folding on the surface of his desk. “Not that I want you to be feeling like this, m'kay. I just want to make sure that this isn't some sort of – some sort of spontaneous thing... m'kay?”

Kyle scoffed. “Yeah. Whatever.”

“Because that's what happens, sometimes,” continued Mr. Mackey. “When you're a teenager, m'kay. You feel a lot of things, because of the hormones involved in growing up. And sometimes, those hormones make us feel like – well, sometimes they make us say things that we don't mean.”

There it was. An anxious bouncing of Kyle's foot, moving through the air as it was suspended from being crossed over the other leg. “Right.”

“...m'kay.”

This kid's eyes usually held a stubbornness, but that fire was gone at that moment. Although Mr. Mackey was beginning to grow concerned, he kept himself from jumping too far into any conclusions. Filling in the blanks was a part of his job – and when you've been a counselor for as long as he had, it's easy to gain the ability to “read the room” (or “sense a change in the force”, as one of his colleagues had put it) – but jumping to conclusions was not in his job description.

Kyle tilted his head, suddenly.

“Great. What do you want me to say?”

Knowing he wasn't done quite yet, Mr. Mackey stayed silent.

“Want me to blame it on some stupid teenage angst? Because, yeah, sure, I can do that. It probably is teenage angst, isn't it? I mean, why the hell else would I feel like this? Must be the fact that I'm a teenager. Yeah. That's gotta be it.” The speed of Kyle's foot bouncing increased. “Because, when there's a set of data that correlates with another set of data, that means it's automatically a causation. No such thing as, like, a coincidence.”

“Kyle, I'm not trying to dismiss your feelings,” said Mr. Mackey. “I'm only trying to make absolute sure that you're certain of what you said, m'kay? I don't want you to make a hasty decision. I'm worried about that.”

“Yeah, well, don't worry about me,” Kyle growled. He uncrossed his arms, uncrossed his legs; Kyle stood from the chair and swung his backpack over his shoulder. “Not like I'm actually gonna kill myself, or anything.”

Kyle left before Mackey could tell him to stay.

**Author's Note:**

> comments / constructive criticism / feedback ; all is welcome!


End file.
